NYPD Officer Who Used Bag Of Potato Chips To Save A Man's Life Speaks Out
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A quick thinking NYPD officer used a bag of potato chips to save a man's life, and the ordeal was captured on his body camera.
As CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas reports, on July 7, Officer Ronald Kennedy arrived at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, responding to a call about a man who was stabbed.
"Go get me a bag of potato chips right now," Kennedy can be heard saying on his body camera.
Ricardo Gonzalez said he ran into a nearby bodega.
"It was crazy, because imagine you've got somebody bleeding in your hands, and the cops come, and the first thing they tell you is 'Get me a bag of chips.' I'm like, really?" Gonzalez said.
Kennedy calmly sprung into action, dumping out the chips before placing the bag on the victim's wound and securing it with tape to create a seal, so his lungs would not collapse.
Above & beyond!
— Commissioner Sewell (@NYPDPC) July 17, 2021
Watch as @NYPD28Pct cops keep a stabbing victim alive using an empty potato chips bag & tape.
NY's #Finest at work...pic.twitter.com/OGRJoa0q5i
"We just needed something squared off that we could tape easily, and we needed something where air couldn't pass through that type of material," Kennedy said.
The victim was mumbling but incoherent.
"Stay with me, stay with me, stay with me," Kennedy told him.
The ambulance arrived shortly after, but doctors say the officer's quick thinking likely saved the victim's life.
"Nobody wants to get stabbed, but this guy, because of the right people showing up at the right time with the right experience and knowledge, this guy has the best chance you can have in an awful scenario," said Officer Matt Grieve.
Police say the victim is out of the hospital.
Thankfully, Kennedy relied on his instincts.
"That's the first time that I did something like that, but you know, it worked out well, and I'm happy about it," Kennedy said.
He says he's still processing being called a hero.
In case you are wondering how did Kennedy know exactly what to do? He was an EMT before joining the police department four years ago.
Police also arrested the suspect in the case. Eric Rodriguez, 38, faces attempted murder charges.